Wednesday, December 29, 2010

First, thank you for the nice comments from yesterday's grumpy post. My hand is much better now. No more throbbing...unless I am careless and bump it! Another round of general antibiotics, while waiting for the results of the culture, so we can specifically target these little resistant buggers!!

On with today's thoughts (it doesn't hurt to type now... yippee).

Last April, shortly after losing our 16 year old Dusty, I wrote a post called Things I Learned From a Cat(here).Dusty was special, and had her own way of communicating with me.

Well, on Christmas day it seems my two current furbabies, Butterfly and Vevie (rhymes with Stevie), had another thing to teach me.

This Christmas day was the first time in many years that Jim actually had off work. And I was so not used to it, it didn't even occur to me to plan a special meal. I just spaced it!

So there we were, Christmas Eve, and it finally dawned on me that it's not the usual, just me eating left-overs. Jim would be here!

What to cook?? What's in the fridge? Anything in the freezer I can thaw? Eek! All the grocery stores were closed, and I wasn't sure which might be open on Christmas day.

Oh sure, there was a lot of food in the house. The "usual" stuff. But... it wasn't right. It wasn't special. It just wasn't "Christmas-y".

Huh??

So it got me thinking... why was I all in a dither over what I was going to fix??

Then I looked at Butterfly and Vevie.They were not fussing over their "special" Christmas meal. To them, it was just another day, just another meal. A little kitty chow, and we're good to go. They weren't throwing a hissy fit because they didn't get Roasted Mouse for Christmas.

And I realized that for me it wasn't about the food itself. We decided to try to find a store open and buy ribs to make BBQ spare ribs for our special Christmas day meal. But why?? Cuz I was lusting for BBQ ribs??

And I was kind of happy to realize that no, it really wasn't about the food--for once! It was about tradition.

All growing up, my Mom would cook a special meal for Christmas. Something we didn't have all the time. Well, with 4 kids to feed on a blue collar workers salary, lets face it... ya don't have prime rib every week! And she would make something special to go with it, like yummy side dishes, and Indian Pudding or homebaked pie for dessert.

The point is... it was special. And I realized THAT was what I was longing for. Not the food itself... but the feeling of "special". Of tradition. Of nice memories. Of nostalgia.

So yes, after we played Santa and enjoyed visiting my sister and my nieces, we discovered an open store and found sugar-free punky pie and spare ribs.

We rented a cool movie from Blockbuster, Inception, and had our traditional "special" meal after all.

It was nice... a "normal" feeling, that it was not about the food. It was about tradition and memories and all that.

From Dr Phil's book:"You now have a concrete plan of action in place for living a healthier, richer, and fuller life. When it comes to managing your weight for a lifetime, make use of everything you've been given..."

My verse for today: "Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light."

My quote for today: "If you don't see yourself as a winner, then you cannot perform as a winner." --Zig Ziglar

13 comments:

Awwww...your kitties are precious. We used to have two cats, but my husband and youngest sons allergies got so bad that we had to give them away to another family. :( They're doing great, but I sure do miss them sometimes.

But your Christmas Day sounds exceptional. I'm glad your kitties could help you with realizing the good stuff.

If everyone just stopped and watched their animals, they would realize a lot of things. My dog and my cat both remind me to be present quite often. Unconditional love from both of them.... well cat doesn't show it sometimes but I know he does :)

Isn't it nice to have special times without feeling like the food is propping us up and making the times special? Instead it is the people and just being in the moment. There were foods I skipped making this year and others I put lots of time and effort into and it really WAS the traditional feel that made things special. Along with my Christmas miracles that you have shared in. Thanks for the thoughts and prayers. I know they were powerful!

Loretta! Your posts aren't coming up on my reading list! I found your last two by clicking on your blog from my following list--and to my surprise, not one, but TWO posts I didn't know about appeared. :(

So, sorry about that recurring hand thing. That's awful. I'm praying for a total cure and no more infection--ever.

And, yes. It is tradition. And that needs to be vavlued. It grounds us--and our children. god loves tradition when it's in its proper place. Just look at all of the feast days and holy days and protocols He set up.

We had gotten Inception on Blu Ray to try out the new player. Was a pretty good movie. Hope you and Your Guy enjoyed it.

I understand tradition. I found a great pie to make - chocolate angel - low calorie and have begun fixinng healthy sides with the main course for holidays. So, we had our traditional ham, but then had all veggie, healthy side dishes to go with. I do the same at Thanksgiving now, too. That way there is special - desert & main course - homage to the old and healthy in homage to the new healthy.

Love this post- I too am a huge sucker for tradition. That's what makes the holidays special! We have so many wonderful traditions in my family, and I can't wait to create new ones with my husband one day. I LOVE THEM! (Christmas or other)

But you didn't say where you found the fantastic "snowcats"! They are soo... cute too! I imagine they were fun to see and make (if you did).I'm glad you could come over and make my day, too. It IS about tradition, isn't it?

I just caught up on your last three posts... You are such a dear heart! I love reading about your cats and their Christmas lesson for you and also your thoughts on blogging/focusing. Happy new year! PB

What a fantastic realization! So happy for you. Tradition is so important in life, I think it keeps us grounded. And animals, what would life be without animals?? So empty, so lonely, wihtout their special communication. So glad you had a special Christmas :)

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